Village patrol Night. (complete)

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Shiki had signed up for a double shift patrolling the village. It was just a few hours after he had dropped off the perpetrator from this mornings patrol in a guarded hospital. Since then Shiki only had three hours of downtime until the next patrol. Shiki spent two hours napping under a tree in the courtyard. With 45 minutes until the start of his shift Shiki had stopped off to eat some Ramen and enjoy a fried potato. The Ramen was delicious and hot which was the perfect thing to prepare his body for the cold weather of walking the catwalks of the city at night.


The Ramen shop was open to the elements so Shiki could already feel the cold weather nipping at his cheeks. There was a aliveness to the streets despite the weather. Most people in the cloud village were used to the temperature that was associated with an altitude of this height. The sky was covered in thin wispy clouds that were common when there wasn't a storm coming. The weather was changing fast. Shiki assumed there was a cold front coming in or a high pressure system coming to the caldera town.  


Shiki Finished his bowl with a satisfying slurp and put his fried potato in his cloak. It should make a lovely snack. Besides the potato was way to hot to even attempt to eat at this point. Shiki left his Ryo on the table and started his patrol route. The friendly portly ramen chef smiled and waved at him as he made his way out into the village streets. There was a lot of construction going on here in this part of the village. There were building two story houses around this area and the construction had Shiki upset. There was so much noise from the construction that it ruined the serenity from his families pond. 

Shiki walked past the construction sights. As he walked past a scaffolding he saw the setting sun touch the rim of the Caldera the village sat in. Shiki kept walking through the rebar scaffolding. This was a lot of fine concrete dust from the construction that had settled on the pavement around the construction site. Shiki was kind of shocked how fast the village was growing. It seemed like every part of the city had some sort of construction going on inside of it. Shiki loved walking through this part of the town at night. The noble families had a rather good taste of architecture. The sprawling manors generally had ponds or small water features that gave a calming ambiance. There was a lovely soft light from the street lights giving the road a soft golden appearance. The road carried on beautiful and uneventful.

Shiki kept walking along the path as he fingers began to get cold. He reached his hands into his insulated cloak pocket. To Shiki's surprise he found the friend potato in his pocket. Shiki curled his cold fingers thankfully around the foil of the hot potato. Shiki turned the corner and began heading down a path toward the market district. This area was clear.

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As Shiki walked down the long winding road from the more prominent area of the village into the market place Shiki decided to finally start eating his fried potato. He pulled the the foil enveloped treasure from within his pocket. As Shiki walked through the market place his eyes never really left the spuddy delight in his hands. This was a special moment. Shiki peeled away the first layer of foil. Delicately. Like one who was slowly pulling off a band-aid or sensually undressing a wanton mistress. As Shiki gently tugged one of the metal ears of foil it teared revealing the golden brown skin peaking from underneath. 

"You're a sexy little thing aren't you?" Shiki said as he ran his naked fingers along the supple heavenly brown skin inside the foil. Shiki couldn't help but smile as he saw its bare flesh. He had a hunger inside of him that was ravenously attacking his willpower. Shiki took his thumb and tucked it underneath the foil at the top of the potato. Slowly rotating the potato itself he began to pull the foil off the top of the potato. Just the top. The bottom would be saved for later. Shiki gazed into the topless potato and was mesmerized by its beauty. Shiki started to lean forward into the potato. Such a goddess didn't deserve to be brought to his mouth. It demanded one take the journey to her. Shiki's face was mere inches away. His breathing picked up and his lips parted ever so slightly. Shiki could feel the warmth coming from its body as his face got closer. The scent, the intoxicating aroma might as well have been soft hands pulling him in for a kiss. 

Their lips touched and Shiki was in bliss. His teeth ran across the soft gentle skin. Then just as Brutus betrayed Ceaser, Shiki betrayed the potato. His teeth knives against the soft flesh. The warm buttery flavor filled his mouth. Every time Shiki chewed it renewed the delicious flavor in his mouth. This. This was heaven. Truly living the high life. As Shiki enjoyed his private moment he wandered aimlessly through the market square.

Turning the corner the vast courtyard of the market place was now vacant as the shops had closed. Shiki hadn't yet realized how late it had gotten but it was close to 2 in the morning at this point. In fact Shiki realized he had been so caught up in eating his potato he didn't remember the walk to get to this particular part of the market. I need to pay more attention. No more fooling around. After all the fuss that happened earlier Shiki was happy that the market place was pleasantly quiet for once. Shiki wandered through the alleyways of the market place. Walking past the closed stalls and locked buildings was kinda unnerving. Shiki felt like a ghost on the streets. 

The sound of wind coming through the alley way made a chilling noise that made the hair on Shiki's neck stand up. Shiki continued to bite into his potato to steady his nerves. It was so quiet Shiki just wanted to scream to break the silence. As Shiki walked along he found the weapon store that had a break in on his first night patrolling the city. He saw that the owner had replaced the broken window since the break in. Shiki frowned as he remembered that night. The night of my first kill. Shiki took another bite of his potato and continued onwards.

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The market was quiet and desolate. It's quiet here... too quiet. Shiki was so bored and the lack of sleep had him on edge. On top of all this Shiki's genjutsu training had Shiki constantly questioning the reality around him. The street lights cast multiple shadows of varying intensity on stacks of boxes and empty barrels around the street. The shadows seemed to be shaking as the lamps intensity fluctuated. Shiki's mind was playing tricks on him. Whats more was that of all of Shiki's fights they all happened here in the market place. They should think about putting actual guards here in this part of the city during the late hours. There are just so many passage ways and alleyways in the market district. I need a partner at the very least, someone who I can at least talk with to pass the time. Shiki sighed as he made his way down an alleyway. All the trash was due to be picked up in the morning. But the smell itself was unpleasant. Shiki ran up the side of the building to avoid walking around the garbage.

Shiki could see the majority of the market's courtyard from his vantage point. From up here Shiki felt a lot calmer now that he could see everything around him. Shiki took a moment just to take in the view. The market place was in good shape. Fresh coats of paint kept the market place looking vibrant. The many different colors of the shops and stands were mirrored by the myriad of different items sold. Shiki looked down. Apparently he was on top of a giant bookstore. He would need to remember this spot. The view was incredible. 

There was the sound of glass breaking and Shiki didn't react to it right away. The exhaustion was getting to him. Wait a second... Glass. His mind jumped back to the night the weapon store was being robbed. Was it another burglary? Shiki ran and leaped off the third story of the bookstore and landed on the second floor of the apothecary. As Shiki landed he rolled and sprang to his feet. He was already running coming out of the roll. Shiki heard the sound of a metal trash bin hit the floor just down the block in the alley over. 

Bandits? No, simple burglars more likely... What if its something worse? What if its a murderer? An enemy ninja? I don't think I could take someone on who has infiltrated this far into city. I need to be ready for whatever is in that alley. Shiki grabbed a brace of Kunai and with one in each hand he ran along side the building into the alleyway. There was trash everywhere. Someone had been rummaging through all the bins. Were they gathering Intel? Shiki approached the dumpster cautiously. Shiki could see the broken glass. It looked like a bottle was smashed. Shiki heard something rustling behind the dumpster. Giving a quick peak Shiki saw a pair a glowing eyes with darkened rings around them. A raccoon. Shiki was many things, but he wasn't going to kill this animal for looking for its dinner. 

Shiki reached into his cloak and pulled out the rest of his potato. He offered it to the small animal. The Raccoon was having none of that. It hissed and growled at him. "Listen here you little shit i'm just trying to feed you." Shiki tossed the potato at the raccoon who grabbed it and scurried away. Shiki let out a sigh. He felt exhausted the shift was coming to an end. Looking into the horizon he saw the warm golden sunlight start to shine over the lip of the Caldera. Another peaceful night. Thank god for small miracles. 

Time to head back.